EDC 102h F10 High School Influences - JasonA

Jason Allard
EDC 102H
September 24, 2010

My High School Experience

High school is often glorified in the media as being a giant party consisting of different

cliques. The jocks and band geeks don’t get along and the teachers are oblivious to what’s going

on in the students’ lives. Fortunately, this was not the case in my school, Woonsocket High

School, located up in northern Rhode Island. I was fortunate enough to have an extremely diverse

school setting, where there was an equal amount of students from various cultural backgrounds.

The opportunity to blend in with everyone in my class was certainly beneficial, but I like to think

it was my role models that influenced me the most. My involvement with the concert band and

the track and cross country teams shaped my education more than anything else in high school.


I remember being in middle school and impatiently waiting for the day I could join the

ranks of the Woonsocket High School concert band. I’d be able to perform solos and tryout for

the award winning jazz band with my golden alto sax. But best of all, I’d be able to go on the trip

to compete nationally in Virginia every two years. However, there was a higher reason the role of

being a band geek was so coveted. It was because I’d be under the direction of the two greatest

conductors to ever grace the stage at the high school. They taught me self discipline through

rigorous scale exercises and even reinforced good habits through embarassment. I recall having

to perform the marching band songs from memory in front of my 100 band mates. Needless to

say, I made a fool of myself and blanked out halfway through the second song. Slowly I learned I

was just a small part of something much larger.


The concert band taught me how important it is to be a member of a team. We were told

that we’re only as good as our worst player and that we’re all capable of being great musicians.

Their constant reinforcement shaped me into a confident student and what I like to think of as a

talented alto sax player. Through the band I was placed in my first leadership role when I became

the president of the band my senior year and the lead soloist at the national competition in

Virginia. I like to attribute my confidence in the classroom to the mantra that was repeated in the

bandroom ; everyone makes mistakes. This especially holds true with instruments, since I’m no

Kenny G. Making mistakes is what makes us learn and the band granted me the wisdom to know

that I would eventually succeed. While band taught me the elements of confidence, it was my

time with the track and cross country teams that I learned the true meaning of perserverence.


My running coach in high school was Rhode Island marathon legend Bobby Doyle. He

served as my role model throughout high school and taught me how to keep setting goals and not

settle for mediocrity. His coaching style came with a sense of humor as he’d say to us before a

track workout, hold on guys let me get my hourglass ready. While what I was doing was hard

work, it was important to remember to have fun. I applied these ideals to my schoolwork and

continue to do so now. If I got a bad grade I try even harder next time and if I had to write a

paper I’d put it in my own way to make it fun. I respected everything my coach had to say and

will always remember him when I achieve goals in my life. He was a prominent figure in my

high school days because of his stressing of hard work both in school and in life. Sadly, halfway

through my senior year my coach passed away from heart complications. I looked to running as a

means of coping, probably exactly what he would have perscribed. I learned that things can be

taken away quicker than we think and to appreciate everything. It sounds cliche, but I can apply

this to my life today. I appreciate school and my education and look to get as much as I can from

it.


High school certainly played a huge role in my education, just not in the conventional

way. It affected me more through teaching me values than through classroom exercises. I applied

what I learned in the bandroom and on the track to what I was doing in the classroom. High

school was an important time to set my own standards and ideals, and I thank my coach and

concert directors for helping me achieve this. Life lessons and education are neatly bound

together, so I hope I can continue this trend and succeed in life and in the classroom.